Almost two months ago we talked about Intel adding support for an unreleased, next-generation IGP to their X.Org driver. This new part still has yet to be released and within the code-base is simply referred to as IGDNG (Intel Graphics Device Next-Generation). A few weeks after that initial code commit, a new shader compiler was added along with some other changes to this IGDNG IGP. This morning there were a few more code commits to the xf86-video-intel driver that impact this IGP we imagine will be released in the near future.

One of the code commits alone for this new IGP is over 16,000 lines long. This code commit added compiled shader program support for XvMC/XvMC-VLD on the IGDNG. Of course, the new 16,860 lines of code added to this driver is mostly hex, so there really isn't much exposed. However, the file extension on these compiled shaders are "gen5", hence this new IGP is likely indeed the Intel GMA X5000 series. A second code commit to the Intel DDX minutes later enabled this XvMC and XvMC-VLD support within the open-source driver.

XvMC is a step better than plain old X-Video / Textured Video for video decoding, but still it would be wonderful to see VDPAU or VA-API support within the Intel driver on capable hardware.

As the IGDNG nears its unveiling, we anticipate seeing more code commits related to this fifth generation Intel IGP. It's good to see though that this code is coming out early so that there will be stable open-source support ready once these Intel motherboards start appearing.

Michael Larabel is the principal author of Phoronix.com and founded the site in 2004 with a focus on enriching the Linux hardware experience. Michael has written more than 10,000 articles covering the state of Linux hardware support, Linux performance, graphics drivers, and other topics. Michael is also the lead developer of the Phoronix Test Suite, Phoromatic, and OpenBenchmarking.org automated benchmarking software. He can be followed via Twitter or contacted via MichaelLarabel.com.

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